Saturday, January 5, 2013

Hugo Harley on "The Haunting : Into the Woods"

Many of you have read my essay on the similarities between erotica in literature and in gay porn, and my review of The Haunting, a wonderful 3-part ghost-story themed porn film by Cockyboys. (If you haven't, scroll down.) So many have told me that they enjoyed my essay and have been rethinking gay porn because of it, and I think that in terms of art, film and literature, this is a valid and important conversation to continue. I just had the pleasure of re-reading the following commentary by Hugo Harley, who works as a production coordinator at Cockyboys, and from what I hear is an all-around sweet guy. This was originally published at his blog, December 19, just after the release of Part II. I thought his comments were interesting and fit in well with that which I have been saying, so I wanted to present them here. Hugo, if you talented guys are what is called "misfit artists", I'm damned proud to know you all! To visit Mr. Harley's blog, go to http://ineedgayporn.tumblr.com/post/38403520600/porn-that-made-me-cry

Porn That Made Me Cryby Hugo HarleyCopyright @ 2012 by Hugo Harley.

In case you didn’t know it
by now: I love porn. Not only is it my career but it is something I
enjoy. I’m one of those people who is lucky enough to “do what I love.”
Because I work in the industry, I get to watch a LOT of porn. And I
don’t mean watching a scene here and there. I spend 3 hours nightly
watching scenes, movies, behind the scenes featurettes, amateur videos,
& talking to cam models. (Don’t worry, I make time to eat and do
‘normal’ people stuff as well.)

After watching COUNTLESS hours of porn, I could honestly say that Cockyboys' The Haunting II: Into the Woods is the very first porn (gay or otherwise) to make me cry.

I don’t cry. My tears ducts don’t respond to emotion. I’m a
passionate person, yes. But I’m not easily swayed by “mushy” emotions.
Due to my upbringing, I have a hard time expressing certain emotions. (I
have even been called cold.) I could express anger and disgust,
awkwardly feign happiness and recently learned the meaning of
‘sympathy.’ One thing I do NOT do is cry. (It’s just simply not
pragmatic.) Imagine my shock when I saw the final draft of Jake Jaxson’s The Haunting II, and I was crying. I realized afterward that several things led to this unusual portrayal of emotion:

1. It’s fucking AWESOME porn. I often get moved by
beautiful movies. Requiem For A Dream, Angels In America, The Goonies
are some of my favorite movies that fill me with emotion. This… this was
beyond porn. Haunting II was wonderfully made, beautifully written and directed, and executed as close to flawlessly as one could get.

2. I’m proud. You’re thinking right now, “Don’t you
work for Cockyboys? Aren’t you required to sing praises about every
scene, no matter what you really think about it?” Yes, I work for
CockyBoys. I help produce our scenes and segments. I help do model
interviews and coordinate some of the things we need to get our scenes
made. I’ve also directed scenes and solos. But that doesn’t change the
fact that in the couple of years that we have been running CockyBoys, it
amazes me and makes me DAMN proud of what a group of misfit artists
could do. A lot of the emotion came from how wonderful this came out. It
made me think, “Yeah… this is CockyBoys bitches….”

3. The bittersweet story. I dug down and realized
that I was feeling a longing after watching Haunting II. In some ways,
it held a mirror to my own deep seated insecurities, experiences and
fantasies. The forbidden love that two of the characters share that was
sadly torn apart by bigotry, intolerance and ignorance is similar to the
experiences many LGBTQ faced and are continuing to face. This shook me.
However, at the same time, it made me have hope. And sometimes that’s
better than anything. Even after being torn apart, these lovers are
finding a way to connect…albeit a few degrees of separation.

So, this weekend, after you’ve watched It’s A Wonderful Life with the
family, do yourself a favor, turn off the lights, grab some popcorn and
lube and watch CockyBoys’ & Jake Jaxson’s The Haunting Part II: Into the Woods.
Happy Holidays.

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DESCRIPTION:

When young playwright Greyson Foster agrees to attend a party at the penthouse of a millionaire, he has no idea how profoundly it will change his life. His journey will take him into spaces in his mind he never knew existed, bring him face-to-face with needs he never knew he had, and challenge him to travel to the precipice of lust, revenge, and love. From their first meeting, the powerful and charismatic Jack Miles weaves an enticing web around Greyson, drawing him into the dangerous game three millionaires play in secret. But Jack's personal life is complicated and his demons are many, and as they strengthen they threaten to destroy all that Jack holds dear - including Greyson.

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